Current Steps
by MythicCreatures
Summary: Sequal to Fresh Steps. Starts up with the babies! This is a journey of Bella and Edward through parenthood and their lives after college. AH.
1. Prologue

_**Here is the sequal to my story Fresh Steps. Hope you guys enjoy. It should make sense if you haven't read Fresh Steps, but for the back story, you should read it first.**_

_**Guess what? I don't own the characters!**_

Prologue-EPOV

When Bella told me she was pregnant, I didn't think that the labor would be like this. I didn't realize how painful it would be for her. I am never, ever going to touch her again. There is no way we were having any more children after the twins were born.

I was pacing in the hallway outside Bella's room. The doctors kicked me out of the room because I kept swearing at them to make the pain go away. I couldn't stand to hear her moans of pain and her screams. This day would star in every single nightmare I would ever have in the future. It seemed the doctors weren't doing anything to help her.

My parents finally showed up. (I had called them when Bella went into labor, but they were in Florida. So they had to hop on a flight order to get back to Seattle.) "Dad! Mom!" I ran over and gave them both a big hug. "They kicked me out of Bella's room and won't tell me anything."

My father went straight to the nearest nurse and turned on his charm. Mom put her arm around my waist and led me to some of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. "How are you holding up, honey?" she asked my quietly.

"Not very well. I think I would be better if I knew what was going on with her. And I would be great, for the most part, if I could be with her. It's just so hard to see her in that much pain and not being able to do anything about it." I leaned my head back so it was resting against the back of the chair.

"We'll try to get you back in the room. Your father was kicked out of the hospital room as well. Your father is working on getting you back in with Bella. I'm sure she needs you as much as you need her right now," Mom said. I nodded in response.

It was nice having my mom there. It helped to have someone near that I can lean on, figuratively speaking. I didn't really want to think about how much pain Bella was in trying to get our babies into the world. We had decided to not know the sex of our babies until they were born. "Edward!" I heard Alice yell, she had poked her head out of the delivery room. "Bella really needs you in here."

I was on my feet and racing toward the room. "Edward," my dad called out as I was entering the room. At the moment, I didn't care what my father had to say. I was able to see my Bella.

Though I knew Bella wasn't in the greatest of shape when I left, I didn't think I would find her like this. She was crying, cussing, and randomly hitting Alice, the doctors, whoever was in the way of her fists. I rushed to her side, took one of her hands and gently rubbed it. "Mr. Cullen. We need to speak to you about your wife's condition," Dr. Johnson told me.

I looked up at the doctor. She has been with Bella since she found out she was pregnant. "What do you mean, her condition?"

"The babies aren't ready to come out, though she is fully diluted. We're going to have to perform an emergency c-section," Dr. Johnson told me.

My face lost all of its color. "A c-section? Will she be all right after and during the surgery?" I asked. The last thing I wanted was Bella to be in someway harmed because of an emergency surgery.

"She'll be perfectly all right. We'll have to give her some more sedatives. Since she reacted so strongly to you leaving, I want you to stay in the surgery room. Are you okay with being in there?"

"Of course. I will be where ever Bella is," I responded. I looked down at Bella, she had calmed down a little because I was holding her hand. "Let's get her ready and get my babies out."

Dr. Johnson laughed at my remark. "She'll be just fine, Edward. So will the babies. There is nothing for you to worry about."

"It's not so much about knowing that Bella and the babies WILL be fine, it's the pain she's going through now."

"I understand, now let's get her feeling better."

With that, Bella was wheeled down to the closest operating room. Dad and Mom, as well as Bella's dad and all of our friends, came with us and hovered around the hallway. I'm surprised Emmett hadn't gotten kicked out of the hospital yet. I'm sure it would be a little scary having him lurking around. Rose and Emmett were only in Seattle for the birth of their nieces/nephews. They've been living in New York. Rose was modeling different things and Emmett was working and designing cars. Perfect jobs for both of them. Bella and I were excited to have them here.

After hours and hours, Dr. Johnson finally told me, "Edward, you have a beautiful daughter and a very handsome son." I smiled at her. "Bella will recover. We're going to put her into a private room. Your children will be in the nursery for a couple hours until Bella is up for feeding them." I nodded.

The next day:

Bella and I had names picked out, but we didn't really want any one to know the names we were considering until the babies were here. Alice, once she found out that she was the godmother of a girl _and_ a boy, she drove as fast as she possibly could to our house and redecorated the nursery. Bella and I will have the babies sleep in the same room for the next couple of years, and then they could have their own rooms decorated in different styles.

I had let our friends and family know that we wanted them all in the hospital room today at 3. Bella had to stay in the hospital for a couple more days because of the surgery, so we decided to introduce the babies to the family in the hospital. When are families and friends were standing beside Bella's bed (I was in the bed with her), and looking at us and the babies, I smiled.

"This is Carlie Esme Cullen," I introduced our daughter.

"And this is Anthony Charles Cullen," Bella stated.

_**Well, how did you guys like it? Let me know.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Not as long as I wanted it to be, but here it is. Don't own the characters!**_

BPOV

I couldn't believe that I was a mother. Here they were. My little babies. Edward and I couldn't take our eyes off of them. They were just perfect. The babies and I came home about a week ago, after a couple days after my c-section. I knew that Edward was freaking out during the labor. You would think for a doctor he would know what was going on. I guess it all just went out of his head when it concerned his children.

"Carlie and Little Tony are hungry," Edward stated as he came into the living room from the nursery.

I never had enough milk to breast feed both babies, so I switched back and forth while Edward bottle-fed the other with breast milk that I had pumped the night before. "All right. Give me the kids, and I'll hold them until you have warmed up the bottle."

Edward placed the babies in my arms and then ran off to the kitchen. We had a feeding system going. I don't know what we would do when Edward went to work. He had accepted a job at a predominate hospital near our house. Since Edward is from a well-off family, we wanted to have both of us in the house during the first couple months the babies were here. It was the first time we were both together in the house all day. It was amazing.

Though both Alice and Esme agreed to come over and help out. They were going to trade off days and will be at the house a couple hours a day once Edward started working. I think they both just wanted time with the babies. If I allowed it, Esme and Alice would raise my kids for Edward and me.

Edward walked back into the living room with a warm bottle. It was his turn to feed Carlie. I handed her over, then adjusted my shirt and bra and started feeding Tony. I smiled over at Edward. He was sitting on one of our rocking chairs, slowly rocking. It was the only way Carlie would eat. She had to be moving. I was hoping she would get over it by the time she started eating real food.

The front door opened, with no knock. Our family all had keys to our house. It was annoying at times to have unannounced guests come over all the time. I looked up and saw it was my dad. "Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked. He was the last person I expected. He did leave three hours north of Seattle.

"We have a problem. It could become a bigger problem," he responded and held a piece of paper up. Edward stood up with Carlie and looked at it. Dad held it so Edward could read what was on it without upsetting Carlie.

"So, she's out?"

"Yeah. Got out last week. I had the jail call me when she was released. She got out six months early for good behavior." Dad glanced over at me, got embarrassed that I was breast-feeding my son, looked back at Edward. "Since you guys have an unlisted number and address, as well as the others, I'm going to assume that she can't find you. But, she did find away around things last time. Watch out."

My mouth hung open. I couldn't believe that a week and a half after having my babies my crazy mother might be coming back into my life. I couldn't think about it. I would go insane if I thought every time I turned around my mom was there, behind me. "What about Weir? Do we know where she is?"

"No. But all she had to do was pay a hefty fine. So, it would seem if she was going to contact any of us, she would have already done so. But, again, it is better to be safe than to let any crazy women near my grandbabies."

Edward laughed. Carlie was done eating, so Edward started burping her. After a loud belch was let out, Edward handed her over to Dad. Dad was amazed at her. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. "She looks like you did when you were this little, Bella. I can't believe that you have two little ones now."

"I think it is a little early to tell who she looks most like right now, Dad."

After I got Tony finished eating, burped and both the babies changed, the five of us went out to lunch. It was nice to be able to see my dad without anyone else around besides my family. The last time that had happened, it seemed, was when I was in high school and mom was still roaming around making threats. At least she really did bring me closer to my dad and brother.

When we finally got back to our house, the babies were half asleep and cranky about it. Edward and I quietly put them down for a nap, while Dad stayed in the living room. He was still nervous around the babies because he was never really around babies that much. Only Emmett and me, and that was almost thirty years ago.

Once done putting the babies in their cribs, we walked back to the living room to talk to Dad. "So, Charlie, what do we do if Renee finds us? Or contacts us? Since she has done her time, she can come near us, right?" Edward asked. I was wondering the same question. I was worried about that since Dad told us she was out, but I didn't want to bring Renee up during lunch, in public, with the babies with us. I knew they would pick up our tension.

"She can come near you now. If she does anything, you can call the cops. I would say if she contacts you at all, let the police know that there is a bad history between you two and her. That she was able to contact you, even though you've taken the precautions of hiding your number, your address. Edward, you might want to remind the hospital that you don't want anyone but patients and a list of family and friends to be able to get a hold of you there," Dad said. I never knew Dad could talk that much. I guess that is how he gets with his family.

"Have you told Emmett and Rose yet? Or Alice and Jasper?" I asked.

"Just the two of you," Dad stated. "I'm going to call Emmett and Rose a little later."

"I'll call Jasper and Alice," Edward said. "The good thing is that all six of us have unlisted numbers and addresses."

Several Hours Later-EPOV

I sighed. After Charlie left, I searched the Internet for any information I could find on Renee. There wasn't any. I then searched for information about Bella and me. The only good news of me staring at a computer screen for two hours is that Renee wouldn't be able to find any information on Bella or I or the babies. I had called Alice and let her know about Renee, I also called my parents. Though we have always liked living on the down low, now is even more crucial.

Looking at the clock, I realized that it was almost time to start making dinner. I stood up and stretched. I walked towards the living room and heard Bella playing with the babies. They were so adorable together. "Do you want to make dinner or do you want me too?" I asked.

Bella looked up at me. "Let's feed them first, then you can play with them. You haven't had any playtime with them this afternoon. I'll make us something simple."

With that, Bella and I went through the feeding babies, making dinner and eating routine. Just as we were cleaning up from dinner, the phone rang. I grabbed the cordless phone, "Hello?"

"Edward. I'm glad I caught you at home. We need you at the hospital. There is any emergency."

That was strange. I didn't recognize the voice and I wasn't working at the hospital yet, so they shouldn't be calling me in. "Who is this?"

"Jacob Black. We need you at the hospital, now."

"I don't work at the hospital yet. My contract states I do not work for another 4 months. So, whoever you are, Jacob Black, you can call another doctor."

"No. We need you," he said.

"I'm not going into the hospital. If you want to call the head of pediatrics, she'll tell you I don't start work for months yet."

Bella kept glancing at me with a worried look. I knew even after I was off the phone, she wouldn't ask me about this conversation. She was playing with Carlie and Tony, having them try to shake rattles. "If you don't come into the hospital, I'll come and get you."

"Try it, and I'll lock you up." I hung up the phone then dialed the number of the woman who had hired me. "Yes, Dr. Clearwater, this is Edward Cullen. A Jacob Black just called me and insisted that I come into the hospital."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

"He said that he would come and get me if I didn't come to the hospital," I responded. When I said that Bella's eyes got huge. I noticed that her hands started to shake.

"Don't worry about Jacob, I'll deal with him," Dr. Clearwater told me.

"Thank you. Also, I was told my number wouldn't be released to anyone other than patients and a list of family and friends. How did he get my number?" I asked. It was hard to believe that right after I was told that me and my wife's old stalker was out of jail, some random person gets our phone number.

"Now, everyone here on staff has excess to each other's numbers and addresses," she responded.

I grimaced. "You told me that my number would not be in that directory. For the safety of my family, I can't have my number and address published anywhere—in print or online or on a list somewhere in the hospital."

Dr. Clearwater cleared her throat. "I understand your concern, but at the hospital we need to have access to your information."

"I am fine with you having my information and the supervisory team having my contact information. Other than that, no one else can have it unless I personally give it to him or her. There is a crazed person who was let out of jail who could come after my wife, my children and me. So DO NOT publish my information. You and I wrote that into my contract. So, if my contact information is not removed, I will contact my lawyer and find work at another hospital." I hung up the phone.

Bella came over to me, with both babies in her arms and leaned against my chest. She raised herself onto her toes and gave me a kiss. Bella always seemed to know what to do to calm me down. The babies always helped as well. As if on cue, Tony let out a loud cry. I smiled. "Let me have him," I said. Bella handed me Tony and I took him into the nursery to change him. Being with my babies and Bella does wonders to me.

Once Bella and I had the babies down to sleep, we were able to talk a little more about the call from the hospital. Though I loved the babies, I liked it after they went to bed and I had some alone time with Bella. We were able to cuddle up on the couch, or on our bed, and talk or just sit and enjoy each other's company.

Curled up together on our bed, we dozed. "I love you, Bella."

She smiled at me, then whispered, "I love you, too."

With that, I was able to sleep.

A loud knocking on the door woke me up around midnight.

_**Like it? Let me know!**_


	3. Chapter 2

_ **Don't own the characters! Bella and Edward do get it on in this chapter, but it is very mild.**_

EPOV

I looked at the door, surprised that anyone would be here. Any of our friends or family would, generally, call before coming over. No one has really been coming over late, because the babies need to go to bed early. I am sure that when we opened up our front door it wouldn't be someone who Bella and I were close to. Bella looks at me when the knock comes again. She turned away from Tony and Carlie and walked towards the door. When she opened the door, I couldn't see who was standing there.

"Can I help you?" Bella asked. Not someone who we know.

"I'm looking for Edward Cullen. He needs to come into work," the voice, Jacob Black, told Bella.

"He's not working right now, so that won't be possible," Bella stated. I grinned. She has spunk, I'll give her that.

"I need to see him now, to tell him about what is going on," his voice got louder and louder as he continued to speak. "He has to come into the hospital now. I am not leaving without him." The loudness of his voice started Carlie crying. Jacob took a step inside our entryway. "What the _hell_ is that?"

Bella giggled and I laughed as I walked over to my daughter. "That would be my daughter and one of the reasons why I am not going into work until I start working. Please leave and don't come back. I've already talked to Sue Clearwater. Now, please leave my house. If you don't, I will call the police." I had picked up Carlie and was slowly rocking her, trying to calm her down.

Jacob looked at me, then down at Carlie. "I didn't know you had brats. I'm sorry."

My eyes bulged, as did Bella's. I slowly walked towards Bella and handed her our daughter. I then stalked up to Jacob, my hands clenched into fists. "Never call my children brats again. Leave my house at once."

"You must love this crazy chick if you are willing to have those guys with her. A guy should never settle down," Jacob told me.

I looked at Bella, glanced at her cell phone, then put my hand on Jacob's shoulder and pushed him out of the door. I shut the door behind me, and then I crossed my arms. "Leave now. This is your last chance. I don't want to see you at my house ever again. I also don't want you to insult my family ever again."

Jacob wasn't scared or intimated by me. Annoying, but I could see why. Though I was tall and lanky, he was taller and had the body of a professional wrestler. I admit I was somewhat jealous of all his muscles. "I need you to come to the hospital."

"You keep saying that but you don't understand that I am not working yet and you don't tell me why I am needed. If I am told that I need to come into the hospital because one of my patients need me or there is an emergency once I start working, I will gladly come in. Right now, I just want to spend time with my wife and my kids," I said through partially gritted teeth. I was sick of repeating myself. I felt that Jacob Black was slightly stupid for not comprehending what I was telling him.

"Well, I for sure would want time alone with your wife too," he told me.

Just as I was stepping up to punch him when a cop car pulled up to the curb. A police officer hopped out of the car and walked up to Jacob and I. Jacob's back was too the street, but he turned around once he heard footsteps. "I heard there might be a problem. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Everything is fine, officer," Jacob stated.

I snorted. "As long as my…friend here is leaving, everything is fine. He has been refusing to leave my property."

"Sir, I'll need you to leave," the officer told Jacob, and put a hand on his arm.

Jacob looked at me. "There is nothing here for me anyway." Jacob walks away to his truck, gets in and drives away. I hope that is the last time I see him for a very long time.

The police officer looks at me. "Your wife called and was a little worried that something would happen once had come out here with him. She also said that this man called the house earlier as well. Is everything really all right?"

"It's fine now. He's just a future coworker who doesn't understand that I am not working yet."

She nodded. "I'll take off, then. Call, or have your wife call, if he keeps this up."

I agreed. I don't think I'd ever understand Jacob Black. He calls me and comes over to my house and tells me that I need to come to the hospital, insults my family and doesn't tell me anything about why I am needed at the hospital. Obviously, I'm not needed, otherwise Clearwater would have told me when I talked to her earlier today. I found it strange that Jacob Black shows up in my life on the day I am told mine and Bella's ex-stalker is let out of jail. Once the police officer was gone, I walked back into my house and Bella jumped into my arms.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are the babies in the nursery?"

"Yeah. They're out for the count…until they wake up hungry and wet in three or four hours." That made me smile. We were still getting used to being parents, though it was an amazing thing. "Are you thinking, what I'm thinking?" My smile became larger. I reached behind me and locked the front door and then followed Bella into our bedroom.

BPOV (Don't read if you won't want to read _very_ mild scene between B&E)

I couldn't believe how bold I was getting. True, Edward and I haven't been able to be sexually active for a while, but I also wanted to make sure that he was all right. It seems a little silly to make my husband strip to make sure he was okay. But also, I just wanted to jump him. I still felt huge from having the babies, but Edward still loved me. Everyday we went for several walks with the babies and Edward was teaching me how to lift weights.

I slowly pulled him into the bedroom. "I think you're wearing too many clothes, honey," I said. I reached over to his dark green shirt and started to slowly undo the buttons. His hands went to my face, gently stroking my cheeks. His bright emerald eyes never left mine. He smiled at me and I felt beautiful.

When his shirt hit the ground, Edward's hands drifted from my face down to the hem of my shirt. As he slowly lifted it over my head, his hands touched all of my sensitive spots. He knew my body so well. I reached back over to his body and pulled his undershirt over his head and started working on his belt.

We didn't need anything else to excite us more than looking into each other's eyes and slowly undressing each other. I pulled him onto our bed. I pushed him down and straddled his waist. I rarely took charge and I knew that Edward liked the change of pace. Though having any type of exciting adventure in bed was a change of pace right now.

I leaned down and kissed him. As I was about to stop the kiss, Edward brought his hands to me head and pressed me closer. His tongue slid into my mouth. As I moaned, Edward flipped me over so he was on top. He kissed my neck, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth. His mouth moved down, kissing his way down my body. I couldn't believe how much my body reacts to him.

"Edward," I moaned. "Come on." As much as I liked his mouth, it is not what I was craving. I wanted something else. Something harder. He sighed against my stomach and looked up, into my eyes.

"Please. Let me do this, Bella," Edward whispered. He pulled out his puppy dog pout. I couldn't deny him anything when he did that. Plus, I'll get what I want soon enough. I slowly nodded.

Edward went back to what he was doing. Of course, I was thoroughly enjoying myself while he was doing it. Once he was thoroughly done with me, I was extremely happy and tired. I curled up into his side and Edward put his arm around my waist. I smiled right before I fell asleep, knowing we always fell asleep in this same position no matter where we were sleeping.

EPOV-The Next Morning

Last night was amazing. It was the first time Bella and I have had sex in several months. We stopped in order to make sure nothing would happen to the babies. Then the babies were here. Being with Bella again…there are no words to explain how much I love her. It is nice to be able to show her.

I woke up early. The babies were a little fussy. So I walked into their nursery, a small room with very pale yellow walls that was split almost in two. Alice had to have a boy's side for Tony and a girl's side for Carlie. It is very much an Alice thing, but it was nice to not have to rummage through one kids thing to find something for the other. I picked up Tony and placed him down on his changing table. Once Tony was clean and changed, I gently placed him back in the crib and did the same with Carlie. It was nice to have some quiet time alone with the babies.

Once Tony and Carlie were changed, I picked them both up and walked into the living room. I placed the babies in their playpens as I walked into the kitchen to quickly warm up their bottles. I wanted to give Bella a morning where she could slip in. Even if it was for thirty minutes, it is more than she normally gets.

Carlie seemed the most hungry, so I picked her up first. After feeding her and burping her, she was ready to wiggle around on the floor. She was a very active baby. She loved her animals and waving them around and slobbering on them. I picked up Tony and fed him. That is when Bella walked into the living room. She smiled. "You could have woken me up."  
"Then I couldn't surprise you with having both of the kids fed!"

That whole day, except for a short conversation with Sue Clearwater, Bella and I spent alone with Tony and Carlie. Since it was sunny, we walked to a nearby park with the babies. Though they were way to young to do anything at the park, it was nice to get some family time and get a walk in. Bella was paranoid about her weight. She had gained weight when she was pregnant. She won't listen to me when I tell her she is beautiful. But, now Bella and I get to spend more time together. We always have someone over wanting to play with the babies. So, we work out on weights. It's so cute to see Bella so serious. Though, with how Jacob was acting last night, I am glad that she wants to have some muscle.

Today, it was my parents who were over, playing the devoted grandparents. "Bella, you look wonderful!" Mom stated. She ran over to Bella and pulled her into a huge hug. Bella just stood there, shaking her head. "Don't you tell me no! You are beautiful."

Bella laughed. "Okay, okay! Now do you want to see Carlie and Tony or are you going to stand in the entry way all day?"

"Well, I want to see them, so she can stand here all day if she wants to," Dad said and left the rest of us in the entry way as he walked to the living room by himself. Carlie was a definite Grandpa kind of girl. Just as Tony couldn't get enough of Mom. Bella and I slipped into our weight room for a workout, then a shower.

Once Mom and Dad had their alone time with the babies and Bella and I had finished working out, we went out to a late lunch. My parents had already fed the babies, burped, and changed them. They were really into the whole grandparent thing.

At the restaurant:

"When do you start at the hospital, Edward?" Dad asked.

"Not for another four months or so. I wanted to be with Bella and the babies during the first part, before I get wrapped up in work," I replied.

Mom smiled. Bella leaned into me. "Don't worry. You won't be working that much. Remember that you have normal office hours and only do emergences for your patients, unless another doctor in your ward is on vacation."

"Wow," Mom said. "Are you guys serious?"

I nodded. "Well, that is what I said. All the other pediatric surgeons at the hospital have children that are older. Though everyone has a right to be with their family, the next youngest child is 12. So, you know they are starting to get into their pseudo-teenage rebellion stage."

We all laughed at that. It was an amazing lunch. I felt like I haven't been able to feel so carefree in years. It was so nice to be able to seat down and laugh, be myself and not have to worry about anything else. All I had to do was pay attention to my babies, my wife and make conversation with my parents and wife. It was wonderful.

_**Good? Bad?**_


	4. Sorry

I really don't know where I am going with this. I have major writer's block. So, if anyone has ideas, please review or PM me so I can try and get my juices going again.


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